


Doing your Duty

by Topsyturvy10



Category: An Inspector Calls - Priestley
Genre: POV Second Person, arthur birling is ignorant, the inspector hates arthur birling, the reader is the inspector
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-25
Updated: 2019-10-25
Packaged: 2021-01-03 03:48:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 378
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21172925
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Topsyturvy10/pseuds/Topsyturvy10
Summary: An exercise for school. We were asked to rewrite a scene from An Inspector Calls as a story. Here's my take on Birling, Mrs Birling and the Inspector's interactions just before he starts questioning Mrs Birling. Sorry if you're a fan of Gerald, Sheila or Eric, as they don't appear in this.I do not own any of the characters in this piece of work. The only thing I own is my interpretation of this scene and my interpretation of the Inspector. Everything else belongs to J.B Priestley.





	Doing your Duty

"You have a photograph of this girl?"

You resist the temptation to give her a coy smile, opting instead to give her the small photograph. You see her frowning, as if trying to decipher why she knows the girl, and then-

There it was. A feeling of warmth and pride floods into you as you practically hear the gears in her mind settle. Her eyes widened and her mouth formed a small 'oh.' You sit back, still not letting that satisfactory grin make itself known. You ask what is already known to you- you coolly ask if she knows the girl in the photograph.

She splutters, perhaps in a futile attempt to delay the inevitable. You idly muse about how much 'she' has changed. Your interviewee- if this could even be described as an interview- glares at you, remarking she "doesn't understand what you mean." You shrug.

She doesn't choose to understand. She isn't even telling the truth.

You relay this to her. She fiddles with her sleeve. Good; she's faltering. You'd truly hate to make her  _ too  _ out of her comfort zone, but complacency and placation wouldn't get you anywhere. This family view you as something callous, and appearances matter. You think about what else to say, but then the  _ husband  _ interrupts. 

"Look here. I'm not going to have this, Inspector. You'll apologise at once."

He, too, glares, and you can't help but groan internally. If you hadn't seen the devil in the flesh, you'd assume this man was his incarnation. The mood of the room drops from cold to absolute zero every time he speaks, and your will to live this life creeps further and further away. A young woman had  _ died _ \- due to  _ his _ actions, no less- and all he could think of was his pitiful wife?

You comment that you're just doing your duty. It is at this point the door opens and closes, so you capitalise on the opportunity to get rid of the Capitalist. You're greeted to the wonderful sight of the personification of the Deadly Sin of Greed leaving the room, albeit after a minimal scuffle and an instant of disbelief. He didn't seem too happy to be bossed around in his own home, but hey. You're just doing your job. 


End file.
